Subscribing to the old maxim that ‘the show must go on’ Belew trod the boards at Philadelphia with a sore tooth. Eye-witness Tim Foster shared this exchange with the readers of ET. “At the end of the set someone threw a T-shirt up to Adrian (nice catch!). He looked at it, showed it to Fripp, who looked at it then scrunched his face as if to say "Oh my...". He then took the shirt and placed it around his neck. After Thrush, Adrian came back on and explained to the audience that he had an abscessed tooth that it had been killing him all night. He offered $20 to anyone in the audience who would come backstage and punch him in the mouth. Upon asking if there were any takers, an exuberant Fripp could be seen madly waving his arm in the air. Belew turned to him and said, "Not you, you already got a f-#%$-ing T-shirt!" Adrian went on to explain that the T-shirt said "King F-%$#-ing Crimson", and had HIS picture on it (pointing to Fripp). Belew asked "Why not a group shot?!"”
Tim thought the new material was “absolutely stunning. They continue to build off of ideas presented on TCOL, etc., and yet new ideas and textures are being introduced. This incarnation really seems to be hitting its stride and finding its own voice. It's a great shame that Electric isn't on the Level 5 CD (but you still need to pick it up anyway, it's tremendous). LTIA IV and Level 5 itself (let's not kid ourselves-Lark's Tongues in Aspic V!) were breathtaking. The Deception of the Thrush. This has got to be my current fave-a bit of a new arrangement this time (during the first section), and a jaw-dropping solo from Trey”
Attending the same show, Jeff Sontag had a big ‘but’ about the newer songs in the set. “Not that they were bad, but you've heard it all before, and more inspired, on the TCOL album...Is it time for KC to move on - maybe on to the direction some of the ProjeKcts (especially 2 & 3) took?” Of course you can’t please all of the people all of the time, and this saying is especially true when it comes to King Crimson fans.
Subscribing to the old maxim that ‘the show must go on’ Belew trod the boards at Philadelphia with a sore tooth. Eye-witness Tim Foster shared this exchange with the readers of ET. “At the end of the set someone threw a T-shirt up to Adrian (nice catch!). He looked at it, showed it to Fripp, who looked at it then scrunched his face as if to say "Oh...
There are 2 Crim shows I’ve attended that stood out as signal changers. Signalling what, not sure I can articulate, but even the long suffering wife dragged criminally against her will to decades of KC adventures observed after this one: "Well, what do you think that was about?" The sore tooth and the peculair t shirt were flags that something other was occuring, and if I could pinpoint it, I would. Perhaps the closest I can come is to say that in addition to King Crimson being in the room, th...
There are 2 Crim shows I’ve attended that stood out as signal changers. Signalling what, not sure I can articulate, but even the long suffering wife dragged criminally against her will to decades of KC adventures observed after this one: "Well, what do you think that was about?" The sore tooth and the peculair t shirt were flags that something other was occuring, and if I could pinpoint it, I would. Perhaps the closest I can come is to say that in addition to King Crimson being in the room, there was an elephant not talking. The Good Doctor and I looked at each other bewildered. It seemed short for a Crim gig, not that there has to be a prescribed length, but more as though something tectonic had shifted the vectors away from the theartre. This was a head scratcher, powerful often, especially on the bum of John Paul Jones and his Scots’ mates lifting their kilts, and especially odd. There was a feeling in my gut that Crim was coming to an end. The other time? 2009(?) 40th reunion (I can’t tell if I’m just getting old, or more Irish, but one day in the past is the same as the next) in Philly, the Keswick. There had been a couple of gigs at Park West in Chicago I’d convinced Cousin Patty to catch, and then Philly and I’m not sure what, if anything, followed. Again, the long suffering missus and the Good Doctor along, as the band assembled center stage and Fripp stood off to the side, post encore, I thought "That’s it. I’ve just seen the last King Crimson show."
